RF Welding Creates Alternative for Fabricating Medical Fluid Bags

An innovation in radio frequency (RF) plastics welding now enables
manufacturers of medical bags and pouches to obtain the clarity, elasticity,
and performance advantages of Medalist medical elastomers while providing a safe
and fully compliant alternative to PVC, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), or
natural rubber latex.

Teknor Apex Company and Genesis Plastics Welding are jointly
announcing this breakthrough at MD&M East, where ecoGenesis™ RF plastics
welded samples of fluid drainage and storage bags from Medalist-based film are on
display at the exhibits of Genesis (Booth 968) and Teknor Apex (Booth 829A).

While conventional RF plastics welding works well with such
polymers as PVC and TPU, low dielectric loss materials such as Medalist
elastomers from Teknor Apex have until now not been bondable with this process.
The ecoGenesis RF plastics welding technology developed by Genesis enables film
produced from a Medalist elastomer to form strong permanent bonds with itself as
well as with polypropylene and similar polymers. And while the alternative
technique of heat sealing produces only a straight-line bond, the sample bags
shown at MD&M East exhibit the ability to weld complex patterns in one
sequence, displaying the wide range of design possibilities available for
Medalist elastomers with ecoGenesis RF plastics welding technology.

This new capability for joining and assembly makes available
to manufacturers of medical fluid delivery, storage, and drainage bags several
important advantages over widely used PVC. Besides being free of halogens and
phthalates, Medalist elastomers are available at lower hardness ranges, provide
a broader processing window, exhibit greater elasticity and superior
low-temperature flexibility, have a wider range of service temperatures, and
save weight because of their lower density. Like PVC, Medalist elastomers are
available in fully transparent grades.

“ecoGenesis RF plastics welding is the latest addition to a
rapidly expanding portfolio of methods for fabricating medical devices with
components made from Medalist elastomers,” said Elliott Pritikin, new business
development specialist for Teknor Apex’s Thermoplastic Elastomer Division. “High-purity
Medalist compounds can be sealed or bonded using standard techniques, including
adhesive bonding, vibration welding, heat-sealing—and now RF welding.”

Genesis provides companies using Medalist elastomers with two
options: 1) to use the welding services of the company as a contract
manufacturer employing a regulation-compliant clean room at its facility in
Indiana, U.S.A.; or 2) to license the ecoGenesis technology for use on their
own standard RF welding equipment.